The finest German publishing 1919–1933

The Book Cover in the Weimar Republic

Discover the cultural and intellectual hot bed of the Weimar Republic with 1,000 book designs from this golden age of publishing. From novels in translation to travel journalism, artist monographs to abortion debates, this part reference compendium, part vintage visual feast for the eyes, is a monument to a precious era of promise and to the irreducible beauty of the book.

The years between the First and Second World Wars in Germany are famed for their cultural boom. With Berlin as its epicenter, the Weimar Republic was replete with ground-breaking literature, philosophy, and art. At the heart of this intellectual and creative hub were some of the most outstanding and forward-thinking book designs in history.

Book Covers in the Weimar Republic assembles 1,000 of the most striking examples from this golden age of publishing activity and innovation. Based on the remarkable collection of Jürgen Holstein and his rare collectible Blickfang, it combines an unparalleled catalog of dust jackets and bindings with Holstein’s introduction to the leading figures and particular energy of the Weimar publishing age. Expert essays discuss the aesthetic and cultural context of these precious fourteen years, in which a freewheeling spirit would flourish, only to be trampled, burned, or driven out of the country with the rise of National Socialism.

From children’s books to novels in translation, bold designs for political literature to minimalist artist monographs, this is a dazzling line-up of typography, illustration, and graphic design at its most energetic and daring. Part reference compendium, part vintage visual feast for the eyes, this very particular cultural history is at once a testament to an irretrievable period of promise and a celebration of the ambition, inventiveness, and beauty of the book.

The author

Jürgen Holsteinwas born in Berlin in 1936. Following an apprenticeship in an antiquarian book store, he founded his own bookshop in 1966, specialized in 20th century art history and literature. Holstein's own publications include a book on the cover designs of George Salter and the bestseller Blickfang, which presented outstanding examples of Berlin-based book design under the Weimar Republic. Since German reunification, Holstein has been particularly active in preserving visual culture artifacts of the former GDR. His extensive archive of artworks, objects, books, catalogs, and posters from this period is now housed in the Getty Center, Los Angeles.

The Book Cover in the Weimar Republic

“…a political statement… A book’s cover isn’t just inseparable from a book’s contents, it’s of a piece with the spirit of its age.”

— The Daily Beast, New York

“If you think Berlin is cool now then boy oh boy you should have been there between 1919 and 1933. The embarrassment of hedonistic riches that were the Weimar Republic would knock today’s moccachino’d up metropolis into a cocked hat.”

“…such a visually exciting publication. It is an indispensable record of a dazzlingly rich period, when various avant-garde styles …must have competed for attention in the booksellers’ windows…”

— World of Interiors, London

“It is almost impossible to do justice to the richness of this selection, which gives us a clear sense of the explosion of energy in publishing during the Weimar period… this book weighs two and half kilos, but every gram is worth it.”

— The Times Literary Supplement, London

“…a visually stunning catalogue of Berlin’s nascent book art culture between the world wars.”

— AIGA.com, New York

“Just browsing through the pages can easily transport you into a huge bookstore in early 20th Century Berlin, well-stocked with just about every genre of fiction and non-fiction you can imagine… To enjoy the pleasures and glories of the golden age of the region’s visual — and literary — arts, you can blissfully immerse yourself for hours in The Book Cover in the Weimar Republic.”

— PRINT Magazine

“This is the first accessible critical mass of fiction, non-fiction, art, textbooks and children’s book covers and jackets ever assembled. And although German design magazines covering this fourteen-year period often featured surveys with tip-in originals of jackets, there has never been a thematic historical resource to address the context, contents, and creators of the books through expert voices of publishing and design scholars. What’s more, it is sobering that the work presented in The Book Cover in the Weimar Republic so clearly influenced design between the wars up to and including today.”

— Steven Heller for Design Observer, New York

“…this large volume taps into the Weimar's creative hub and how it established its unique artistic aesthetic.”

— Interviewmagazine.com, New York

Jim Heimann

Editor

„Another aspect of the Weimar Republic is revealed in exquisite, expert detail in this wonderful exposition of graphic tomes.“